Rhododendron yuefengense

Description with 20 photos. Photo: Finn Bertelsen. Evergreen, low and spreading shrub. Flowering from young age. Hardy. Young shoots glabrous. Petiole broad, rounded triangular in cross-section to slightly winged near leaf base, yellowish green, to 33 x 7 mm. Leaf blade broadly elliptic to almost circular, coriaceous, to 12 x 8 cm. Leaf apex rounded with tiny mucro. Leaf base obtuse, rounded or subcordate. Leaf adaxial side glabrous, bluish green in opening phase, later green with yellowish midrib. Leaf abaxial side glabrous, light grey green. Inflorescence an erect raceme with 5-9 flowers. Rachis glabrous, to 90 mm. Pedicel scattered glandular hairy, to 60 mm. Calyx rim-like with wawy border, densely stipitate glandular, c. 2 mm. Corolla with 7 lobes, widely campanulate, outside base of tube scattered glandular hairy, white flushed pink, c. 70 mm wide, c. 25-35 mm deep (long). Ovary channeled, densily short stipitate glandular, with 7 – 10 loculi, 4 – 5 mm. Stamens 14 – 15, unequal in length, 12-25 mm. Filaments white, finely puberous with glands towards base, otherwise glabrous. Anthers brown, 2.9-3.1 mm. Style stipitate glandular, to 30 mm, with green turbinate, commonly bifurcate stigma, 2.8 mm. Capsule channelled, densely glandular. Seeds unknown. Locality of origin: Unknown. Seeds from Cox, Glendoick No RFG 224-13. Native habitat: Guangxi, China, according to Flora of China. Remarks: The filaments of the above described specimen are not completely glabrous. Minute hairs, in part glandular, occur on the proximal parts, but they are best seen in the microscope.